Ninja Gaiden III The Fury of the Dragon Written by Jeff Nussbaum deuce@scsn.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter Six Ryu charged down the stairwell after his tormentor, and looked around frantically for some sign of him. But to no avail. The station was pretty much deserted, and the few bums who occupied the hallways still were far too drunk to pay any notice to the desperate ninja. He heard footsteps off to his left, fading quickly. The man was still running... or simply leading him on. It galled him, having to play Foster's little game, but he had no choice. He had no leads, and with his enemy's CIA contacts, the authorities were likely to be of little or no help. They could be in on this, for all he knew. As he chased his quarry, he faced off against a few more of the hired thugs, but they were no match for the powerful ninja. All thoughts of despair had left him, and all that remained was determination. He would get his family back home safely, even if it cost him his life. This man was going to tell him where to find them. Ryu ran through the station, hot on the heels of the man who had taunted him, weaving through the mazelike arrangement of columns. A loud rumbling shook the entire area as one of the trains shot past near him. Shortly after it was gone, he saw the man getting onto the next train, which was about to leave. The man gave that infuriating grin of his, and beckoned Ryu aboard just as the train was beginning to pull out. Wasting no time, the Ninja Dragon ran for the nearest door and grabbed on. He was at the very last car of the train, but once inside, the going would be easier... and the man would be trapped. He struggled to keep his grip, but managed to somehow pry the door open. He fell inside, sprawling on the filthy floor. Immediately, he stood and looked around, with the distinct feeling he was being watched. And indeed he was. He looked up at the cars ahead, and saw a plethora of hired thugs, along with a few street punks, looking in at him. Foster had probably offered some money to the punks in order to keep him busy. They were brandishing knives and clubs, and an assortment of gangland weaponry. He had faced worse. He opened the doorway leading into the next car, and looked around at the young men surrounding them. He frowned under his mask. Some of these boys weren't much older than Ken was. And here they were, prepared to risk death for the price of a few dollars. It was sad. But Ryu would not allow their youth to sway him. The men and boys looked at him with evil grins. They figured this one man didn't stand a chance. Ryu returned their stares with narrowed eyes. "If you're looking for a fight, you don't know what you're getting into, kids," he said. The boys chuckled and began brandishing their weapons. "But if you're set in your course, I suppose I'll be happy to oblige you." Ryu drew the Dragon Sword and stood at the ready, waiting for the punks to make the first move. They were young and impatient... so he did not have to wait very long. Almost immediately, one of them rushed him with a knife. The ninja sidestepped and tripped him effortlessly, and gave him a vicious openhanded chop to the back of his neck for his efforts. He went down for the count. Perhaps one life could be spared, thought Ryu, but the luxury of fighting without killing would soon be lost to him. The sheer number of opponents would soon necessitate deadly force. Another of the punks charged in at him, screaming an inarticulate battlecry. Ryu figured this one for a fool. With barely any room to move, he brought the sword up and sidestepped, carving a sizeable gash in the young man's arm. This one, too, went down, clutching at his wound and screaming in pain. And so it went... the confined quarters didn't allow the thugs to swarm him like they might have otherwise. Ryu fell into a rhythm, countering each blow as it came, never stopping his motion for an instant. "You kids are lacking an important degree of subtlety," he told the group between blows. His assailants only barely registered his words, and continued pressing their unsuccessful attack. "You're just charging in, no grace or anything remotely resembling strategy," he said as he sidekicked one of the attackers in the ribs. "If you'd take the time to--" His monologue was cut off by a baseball club to the arm. He clutched at the area of impact and looked at the one who had hit him. Foolishly, the boy was standing there, looking smug. "Where are all your lessons now? You ain't so tough!" he shouted in defiance. Ryu cocked an eyebrow. "Never relinquish your advantage," he said, and quicker than a cobra, he hurled a shuriken at the boy. It caught him squarely between the eyes, and he fell over. Unlike many of his compatriots, however, he would not be getting up again. At this, the few men left who were still both conscious and alive fell back a step, then tried to regain the momentum of the battle. But it was to no avail. Ryu had decided to keep moving. And those that got in his way were cut down as the obstacles they were. His progress through the train was steady, and none of the thugs who opposed him posed much of a threat. The lights in the car were evidently on the verge of failing, as they came on and off and random intervals, making for a rather confusing journey. He was nearly at the first car, and through the window, he could see the man whom he had been chasing. The grin was still there, as if he knew Ryu would have no trouble getting this far. Ryu stepped through into the car, and the man gave gim a lazy two- fingered salute. "Nice work," he said. "I see you managed to get past my associates back there." He motioned toward the rear cars. The ninja almost laughed. "What do you mean, 'managed'? I've fought tougher battles than that blindfolded!" The Dragon Sword stood at the ready, in his hands. It vibrated with seeming anticipation of the fight to come. Could it truly be alive, like its cousin was? Could it be that similar to the Dark Sword of Chaos? Ryu had no time to ponder this as the man spoke. "I believe you. You've got quite a rep, Hayabusa... and believe me, I'm not out to make one by killing you. I just go where the money is." He was tossing a throwing spike to himself. With the deftness of a master, the sharp metal rod twirled through his fingers. "So Foster hired you, then?" asked Ryu. "Where did he take my family?" Some urge was pushing him to attack, but he held back, knowing he needed information before he needed blood. The man shook his head. "I don't even know the guy's name. All I know is that he paid me a lot of money to take you out... and for the kind of money he's paying, I'm not about to let him down." Without another word, the throwing spike went sailing through the air at the Ninja Dragon. Slightly shocked, but prepared, Ryu dodged aside, the spike piercing the wall and sticking straight out from the force of the throw. This fellow was not only skilled, he was strong. This would indeed be a difficult fight. Ryu drew upon the power of the Sword, and felt a tell-tale heat building up in his arms. With a short battlecry, he swung his arm forward, and the heat was released. A spiralling burst of fire hurtled through the air at the spike-thrower. He was too shocked to dodge fully, and the flames caught his side as he sidestepped. A growl ensued from the burned man, and he quickly put the flames out. "Eat this, old man!" he screamed, and held up his curled fingers. Between them were more spikes, totalling three. In a vicious backhanded swing, the implements of death went sailing through the car as the light flickered on and off. The poor lighting conditions made it difficult to determine the direction of the throw, so Ryu ducked as opposed to dodging. One of the spikes caught the flesh on his shoulder, and he winced. But it was not serious... muscle had not been torn. But it had passed right through. This was both good and disturbing. If one of those spikes hit him in the right spot, it could pierce his skull... or sever his spine, or any number of various other unpleasant results. With an incoherent kiai, Ryu took advantage of the flickering light in the car. Every time the light would come on, Ryu was in a different spot, thus making it impossible to draw a bead on his target. "Where are you, you bastard?!" he cried. And suddenly, he saw. A masked face right in front of his. And he knew he had failed, even before he felt the cold, folded steel sliding through his gut. As he slumped to the ground, he looked up into the eyes of the victor. "You won," he said simply. Ryu only nodded silently. The man continued. "Not a bad fight, I thought," he said, clutching at the wound and coughing weakly. "Oh well... had to happen sometime." "You fought well," Ryu admitted. "Now tell me...." The dying man cut him off. "Your family's been taken back to... to... what this Foster guy called 'the source of all your troubles,'" he said. The light was gradually leaving his eyes. Ryu's eyes widened. "The what?" "He said you'd know what that meant." And indeed, Ryu did know, or at least, he had some idea, but truly hoped that it didn't mean what he thought it did. The man brightened slightly and said, "Oh yeah... I was also supposed to give you this if you survived..." Ryu stood at the ready, prepared to kill the man instantly if he tried anything else. But the man only pulled out a small key, attached to a paper keyring, now reddened with blood. "What's this for?" he demanded. The man was overcome by a coughing fit. "Go to... the airport... locker number 217. There's something in there you'll need... Foster's arranged... transport for you...." The ninja pondered this, but the man continued. "That is," he said weakly, "if you can make it... I wouldn't go above ground if I were you." He grinned again, but it soon faded. And the man's cold eyes stared up at Ryu, in death as they had in life. Silently, he knelt down and closed the lifeless eyes. "Don't go above ground, hmm? I guess this means I'm stuck with the sewers...," he thought. First order of business now would be to find a way in at the next station. He was being led on a wild goose chase, and he knew it. But this was his only hope.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TO BE CONTINUED ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ninja Gaiden, Ryu Hayabusa, Irene Lew and all characters are the sole copyright of Tecmo. This document is meant for public distribution in its ORIGINAL FORM ONLY, and should not be sold at any price. All events portrayed in this story are the inventions of Deuce, and do not reflect the "proper" story as shown by Tecmo (even though Tecmo screwed the pooch on the NG3 story).